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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Distance education: interview with Dr Mandy Johnson

Veterinary Mandy Johnson is a firm believer in lifelong learning.

In case you hadn't noticed, here at SAT we are very firm believers in veterinary continuing education. Veterinary school lays the foundation but new treatments emerge and its often beneficial to revisit a topic once you have some experience behind you to contextualise the knowledge.

For the uninitiated, veterinary continuing education is now mandatory in Australia, but clients increasingly expect us to constantly seek out up-to-date information. And it does keep work interesting.

As SAT readers know, there are always a fantastic array of webinars and seminars on - but sometimes one wants to sink one's teeth into a particular subject and learn something a bit more substantial. Postgraduate study is one option, distance education is another.

Tell us a bit about yourself?

I graduated from the
University of Sydney in 1981 and have worked in small animal practice since
then.

In 1984 my family and I
moved to Coffs Harbour on the mid north coast of NSW, where my husband David,
who is also a vet, became a partner at Pacific Vetcare (or Park Avenue Animal
Hospital as it was then).

The practice which has a
mixed case load caring for domestic animals, farm animals and equine patients
has grown from a 3 man practice to now employing 10 veterinarians. All of
Pacific Vetcare’s practitioners have particular areas of interest and expertise
and most of our vets have completed Distance Education Courses (eg in Surgery,
ultrasound, equine medicine, clinical problem solving etc.) which in some cases
have led to completion of memberships in their special fields.

Why
did you decide to take on a distance education course?

I found that doing a DE
course was very convenient. I had access to skilled tutors who are leaders in
their fields, I could study from home at times that suited me and I had none of
the associated travel costs of conferences. Also because the course is spread
out over months there is more time to digest the information.

I enrolled in my first
Distance Education Course, because the Practice Principles decided that they
wanted someone in the Clinic to have expertise in Dermatology: a huge
percentage of our caseload involves animals with dermatology issues.

What
courses have you completed and why did you choose these subjects?

In 2002, I did the
Dermatology DE Course with Ralf Mueller and Sonya Bettenay. I had always had an
interest in skin cases, my bosses wanted me to do the course and we see a huge
number of animals that have skin problems.

This year, I have just
completed the Clinical Pathology Course 1 with Sandra Forsyth. It is the first
year this course has been offered, otherwise I would have done it before. Most
sick animals that we see have some form of
clinical pathology testing carried out, also it fits in very nicely with
dermatology cases.

What
did you find most helpful about the program?

The most obvious benefit
is the great increase in knowledge gained. The courses are presented in a
logical fashion so that the basics are covered and memory is refreshed (it is a
long time since I graduated) and current techniques and information are
presented. If more information is required you have easy access to your tutor and
other members of the course.

What
were the biggest challenges?

The biggest challenge is
finding time to do the course work and being disciplined about it – sometimes
studying and doing assignments are not so appealing when you want to relax and
do something else. For me that brings about the problem of guilt – knowing that
I should be studying when I’m not [Ed: I hear you loud and clear! Even bad TV becomes compelling when its a guilty pleasure]. However, the flip side is the great feeling
you get when you have finished the work and then looking forward to the next
part.

Another problem is the
actual cost of the courses – for me working part-time as I do, justifying the
expense could be a real issue.

How
do you network in a distance ed program and what sort of connections were you
able to build with colleagues? (eg in Australia and overseas)?

At the start of the course
we introduced ourselves via the listServ or email forum. This lead to quite
robust discussion and as in most things some people were way more active than
others. The workshop provided an opportunity to meet all the participants in
person. The tutors from both the courses I did were always available, via the
internet, and happy to answer any questions.

How
do you use the knowledge you gained and how has it changed the way you
practice?

Before doing the
dermatology course, I found skin cases to be extremely frustrating and my
approach to treatment was very haphazard, more of a recipe book format than a
logical approach – if it was itchy, give it prednisolone, if it looked purulent
add in antibiotics. While cases can still be frustrating, my approach now is
far more scientific and logical and I am fairly confident about what I am doing.
Consequently I have much more success with my cases and am able to explain
causes and treatments much better to my clients.

So much of dermatology
work ups involve clinical pathology (collection of samples, using the
microscope etc) that it was the obvious next step for me to go on and do the
Clinical Pathology course when it was offered.

Mandy does a lot of cytology now for dermatology cases.

Everyone uses clinical
pathology in their practice – some answers are simple, straight forward and
quick, but often we need to send samples away and get an expert opinion. Being
able to interpret answers on the spot can give owners an idea of what their pet
is suffering from and what may be involved in their treatment. Treatment can be
started earlier, it can save the client money; it can give us clues to the next
step in diagnosis and treatment eg ultrasound/ x-rays and most importantly it
can lead to better outcomes for our patients.[Ed: for those wondering about Mandy's derm caseload, she sees a lot of dogs with hypersensitivites though less with flea hypersensitivity since the advent of some newer flea products. She sees a lot of demodex, occasional sarcoptes, loads of malassezia, lots and lots of acute and chronic otitis externa, then the odd auto-immune disease like pemphigus or discoid lupus erythematosis, and lumps/bumps/warts of course].

What
did you learn about your personal learning style during the program?

Nothing really has changed
very much for my particular style of learning over the last 30 years apart from
the obvious advent of the internet and being able to access information
instantly from many sources.

I still like to take
myself off in to a quiet room, usually my bedroom, sit on the bed with books
and paper everywhere and write things down. I think I have a very visual style
of learning and things seem to stick better if I can see it. For this reason,
the workshops are invaluable. It is much easier to retain information from
something that I have seen or heard face to face, than reading it in a book.
Emails to and from the tutor also have a better chance of being retained in my
brain.

What
sort of continuing education would you plan in the future?

I am already enrolled in
Clinical Pathology 2 which starts next year.

I would be happy to do
many of the courses as I love learning but obviously to do something that you
are already interested in, has relevance in your particular work, and can be of
use to the rest of the practice has merit.

Veterinary Ethics: Navigating Tough Cases

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